CA CA - Erik Lamberg, 51, Redondo Beach, 25 May 2013

[DayLea]

From the Facebook Page:

 

[DayLea]

Also from the Facebook Page:

 

[DayLea]

Two Years Ago Erik Lamberg Went Missing
May 28, 2015
http://kymkemp.com/2015/05/28/two-years-ago-today-erik-lamberg-went-missing/
Brief article at link.

 

[burblestein]

Some of the above posted links have their own links. I traced them down, and can offer some update here.

In the initial search, dogs tracked Erik along the Sherwood-Fort Bragg Road in both directions. A detective surmised that Erik walked west to the crest of a hill, couldn't spot Fort Bragg (still some 13 winding miles to the west), and doubled back past his stuck van for several miles. Attempts to ping his cell phone were useless. (Probably a no-service area.)

On 31 May, which would have been Erik's third day in the woods, a professional owl caller making a survey just off the Skunk Train RR Line was startled by violent human screaming in the woods. The biologist left the Clare Mill Station area and told his girlfriend about the odd incident when he got home. Somehow, the incident did not come to official notice until the end of July. A second search was organized, with 40 volunteer searchers. Aircraft use for aerial search was not indicated, as the ground cover is too thick for observation. (Personal note: While playing in Mendocino's woods, I have found that I could hoist myself atop the buck brush and roll my way along to the next clear spot. I weigh 200 pounds.)

The second search was no more successful than the first. Forty searchers were obviously inadequate for the task; heck, an army battalion would have been. However, Mendocino County has only 56 sworn officers to cover a county four times the size of Rhode Island. Volunteers came up from Marin County to assist. By the time the searches were over, one or two of the trained volunteers had fractured legs in the rugged terrain.

References used:

http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/lifestyle/20130802/search-goes-on-for-missing-redondo-beach-man

http://www.easyreadernews.com/72713/local-redondo-beach-man-still-missing-in-mendocino-county/

http://patch.com/california/redondobeach/search-for-missing-man-to-resume-next-week_fc8d58e1

http://www.easyreadernews.com/73296/redondo-beach-missing-man/

http://www.easyreadernews.com/70963...ndocino-county-for-missing-redondo-beach-man/

http://www.easyreadernews.com/71120/no-news-on-redondo-beach-man-missing-in-northern-california/

http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-...hern-california-counting-on-new-search-effort

It is unfortunate that Erik did not stay with his vehicle. For both business and pleasure, I roved the unpaved back roads of Lake and Mendocino County, as well as the Mendocino National Forest ,for years. Any and every time I was stopped somewhere back there, and someone came along, they would pause to see if I was in trouble. When I came across a stationary vehicle, I would likewise stop. It's a back-country custom. Out where Erik was stuck, past the old Sherwood Rancheria, it may have taken a day or two, but someone would have come along.

Underway: an attempt to find and explore the terrain where Erik disappeared, using maps and satellite photos.

 

[burblestein]

In the sources above, it is mentioned that Erik had a poor sense of direction. Actually, back where he got stuck, the road net branches off in all directions, with variations on the road name. Sherwood Road, Ft Bragg-Sherwood Road, and odd little offshoots run in all directions. Also, the distances and directions given do not help pinpoint where his van stuck. However, here is an overhead view of the stretch of road upon which he did get stuck. Somewhere along here they held the first search, up and down the road.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Mal...3590d7646!2m2!1d-123.5068189!2d39.5438853!3e0

This next overhead photo shows the area of the second search, which was centered on Clare Mill. This was in response to the owl caller's report.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/C...34c35b23d86ac!8m2!3d39.4164027!4d-123.4269333

 

[burblestein]

CA Dept of Justice has listed Erik as missing: http://dojapp.doj.ca.gov/missing/detail.asp?FCN=3311314900423 . Erik's date of birth is given as 29 October 1961. And, helpfully, the location of his stuck van is given as 18.2 miles east of Fort Bragg. Maybe I can work that clue into something.

 

[burblestein]

CA Dept of Justice has listed Erik as missing: http://dojapp.doj.ca.gov/missing/detail.asp?FCN=3311314900423 Erik's date of birth is given as 29 October 1961. And, helpfully, the location of his stuck van is given as 18.2 miles east of Fort Bragg. Maybe I can work that clue into something.

 

[burblestein]

Please pardon the prior duplicate post.

Anyhow, I traced the Fort Bragg-Willits Road from where it intersects Route 1 in Fort Bragg. According to Google maps, this is 18.2 miles in, and should approximate where Erik's van stuck. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/105...e0a02ec!2m2!1d-123.719304!2d39.446435!1m0!3e0

 

[burblestein]

Here's a link to an article describing Erik's illness and its effect on his family: http://articles.latimes.com/2-13/aug/16/local/la-me-0817-banks-20130817
It adds no new info to his disappearance, but fills in his background.

 

[burblestein]

I found the coordinates for the actual location of Erik's van. They are 39° 31' 41.38"N 123° 29' 26.64W. I have plotted them out here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/3...3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d39.5281611!4d-123.4907333
Translated into an overhead view, it becomes https://www.google.com/maps/place/3...3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d39.5281611!4d-123.4907333

Fort Bragg (CA) Advocate-News, 31 October 2013: http://www.advocate-news.com/genera...s-remain-open-leads-welcome&template=printart

This is much further east than my previous calculations. It is also surprisingly close to the old Sherwood Rancheria. I should think that anyone still resident on the old rancheria would be of special interest to LE so far as gathering information. Maybe reward posters on the rancheria would stir up some memories, open some mouths, spark some searching.

 

[Mountain Mama]

I wonder if it is possible that Erik could have met with foul play. Particularly since this is not the first time a person who was last seen in Laytonville has had their vehicle found abandoned on Sherwood Rd. In 1995, Danny Ray Michael went missing from Laytonville, CA.

"The family member had last seen Michael on April 3, 1995 in the 46000 block of Fisherman Drive in Laytonville, California. During the contact with the family member, Michael said he was going to drive to Garberville, California in his vehicle....On April 21, 1995 the family member received a telephone call from a Laytonville resident who had found Michael's vehicle abandoned on Sherwood Road in Willits, California."

http://www.mendocinosheriff.com/missing/index.html

 

[burblestein]

Danny Ray Michael's WS thread is at
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ocino-County-3-April-1995&highlight=Mendocino

In the dim recesses of my memory, I seem to recall a third man disappearing out there by the old Sherwood Rancheria. Gonna have to poke around and find that case.

 

[burblestein]

It turns out to be a cold case homicide in the same area. The victim was Mark Maples:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-53-Brooktrails-13-July-2012&highlight=Maples

 

[JerseyGirl]

Erik Lamberg, 51, of Hermosa Beach, Calif., has not been seen since May 28, 2013, when he checked out of a hotel in Laytonville. His vehicle was later found abandoned in Northern California. Despite several searches, authorities have been unable to locate the missing computer security technician. Lamberg is described as 6 feet 5 inches tall, 200 pounds with sandy blond hair and blue eyes.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entr...eshow=true#gallery/559e0f6ce4b0967291557f1d/8

 

[burblestein]

For a thorough description of Erik"s disappearance, read posts # 24 to #30 above.

 

[Mountain Mama]

I wonder if the man who pleaded no contest to murdering Kayla Chesser on November 1, 2014 in Willits, CA has been investigated regarding Erik's disappearance. His name is mentioned in this article. http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4272472-181/mendocino-county-judge-orders-trial

 

[burblestein]

I don't wonder about it. Why would a drunken lust murderer of a woman go way out in the woods to hunt down a large, mentally ill man the year before he murdered the woman?

 

[burblestein]

Is there a theory that Marshall used to visit Willits at random intervals to murder random people?

 

[burblestein]

Note to Tricia: return thread to 2010s missing persons forum, at CA - CA - Erik Lamberg, 51, Redondo Beach, 25 May 2013

 

[burblestein]

Cold Case Mendocino also has coverage on this case:
Erik Lamberg Went Missing in the Wilds West of Willits